Few villains have ever created such a stir. Jaws is a famous a bad guy as Darth Vader or Norman Bates.* And rightly so. The moment we first see Richard Kiel in the role, we can’t help but be intimidated by his looming presence…then he smiles.

Jaws had comedic qualities in The Spy Who Loved Me, but he wasn’t a clown. He has one of the best “jump scenes” in the franchise, scaring the bejezus out of Anya and the audience when he appeared in the train compartment closet. His vampiric killings and attempted killings were horrifying, so that his jokier side functioned as needed relief. Jaws has superhuman qualities, but no more so than Oddjob, who is also impossibly strong. He works in the Bond tradition as a nearly-unbeatable henchman who nonetheless fails to stop 007.

Jaws is one of the only three undefeated major henchmen; the others are Baron Samedi (Live and Let Die), who survived, and May Day (A View to a Kill), who changed sides. (Minor underlings and control room operators may have survived various adventures, and the minor character Professor Kutze survived Thunderball by switching sides.)

*Jaws was nominated for AFI’s 50 Greatest Villains list, but didn’t make the final cut. Both Bates and Vader were in the top 50, along with Goldfinger.